


Smiling

by AlyssiaInWonderland



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies), Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Cute, Drabble, Fluff, Happy, M/M, Oblivious Spock, Spock and Jim smile at each other ALL THE TIME, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, and Spock takes ages to figure things out, but its all ok in the end, they just really like each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-31
Updated: 2017-08-31
Packaged: 2018-12-22 05:08:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11960367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlyssiaInWonderland/pseuds/AlyssiaInWonderland
Summary: A journey through how Spock responds to Jim's smiles as time passes.Or, the one where Spock is oblivious but gets there in the end!





	Smiling

The first time Spock sees Jim smile, he is unable to quite understand his reaction. It is disconcerting, and, he thinks, most uncomfortable. He finds himself resenting the broad, careless sprawl of Jim’s lips, the way he telegraphs his mirth so casually to the world. It feels crass, rude, the emotion spilling loudly from his expression. Jim is incredibly emotive, his features mobile and adept at expressing his every mercurial change. Spock feels something in him respond to the smile, and he tells himself that the response is that of hate.

Jim has not smiled for three point four solar days. Spock wishes that it felt like a relief, a respite from the confusion that spirals within him whenever he sees Jim’s face. He wants to be grateful that his Captain is, finally, displaying some professionalism, some form of control. Jim is serious, focussed, quiet; he is perfectly in line with regulations. The productivity of the bridge crew lowers by six point five percent. Spock considers talking to Doctor McCoy, but dismisses the option. He finds that he misses Jim’s smile. He theorises that Jim is lonely, and invites him to play chess in his quarters after the shift. The smile he receives at the offer is small, but it feels like water after a day out in the Vulcan sun.

Spock notices that Jim’s smiles have many variations. There is the smile he gives to many of the crew; greeting, encouraging, perhaps a little proud. The smile he gives to those he knows better, such as Uhura or Sulu, is instead familiar, warmer and caring, with less professional distance behind it. McCoy is different again – with the Doctor, Jim’s smile fills with fondness, and more than a little good-natured amusement. If Spock were to admit to having a favourite smile, however illogical such differentiation may be, it would be the smile that Jim directs at him. When Jim smiles at Spock, he can feel it like a gravitational pull. His eyes crinkle at the corners, the openness in his entire posture seeming to invite Spock forwards. Sometimes, it is all that Spock can do to keep himself from tumbling into that inexplicable force.

Chess quickly became their habitual pastime, and Spock relishes the logic just as Jim relishes the tactics. Spock finds that, during their games, a whole gamut of emotions wrestle to the forefront of his mind. Frustration is, initially, primary among them, but over time the discontent recedes, and he is left with the elation that only an equal engagement of intellects can stimulate. He knows that Jim endeavours to play the player, not just the game, and he tells himself that this is why he allows himself such introspection during their matches. One day, when Jim smiles in triumph, he is floored by a realisation. Jim notices that something has changed, but he leaves it to Spock for now, for which he is grateful.

The entire bridge is tense, watching him carefully, and Spock is irked that they have somehow become so used to his more emotional demeanour that they perceive a return of logic as an ill omen. He refuses to let his lips twitch up in response to Jim’s smile, and watching his smile fade, crumbled and confused, feels like an act of violence. He strides off the bridge after his shift, hoping that his Captain will not attempt to talk to him. He meditates for the entire counter shift, and passes his next in the labs. He knows he cannot avoid the bridge forever, yet he is illogically reluctant to return there.

Jim knocks on his door, and he cannot say no. He looks concerned, upset, and Spock can feel his heart twisting in his side as he realises that he is directly responsible. They both apologise at the same time, standing barely a foot apart from each other, and Spock feels the laughter with Jim’s smile, tingling through his body and curling around that feeling that had always been lying there, dormant and waiting for Jim. Spock lets his lips curl up into a true smile for the first time, and the feedback loop of warmth pooling between them sets the feeling inside him ablaze. A spark leaps from his mouth as words.

“When you smile, I want to kiss you.”

“I want you to.” Jim replies.

They smile into the kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!! Hope this was enjoyable!
> 
> This was for a prompt on my tumblr, I'll try and figure out how to link it at some point!
> 
> As ever, comments and kudos feed my dark and validation-craving soul!!


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